


(Gotta Get It Right Back) Where We Started From

by MissyLeigh89



Series: Started at the Stampede [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Adoption, Family Drama, Funeral, Gen, Multi, Racing, Social Worker, ambiguous - Freeform, ditched the truck, mentions of a broken foster system
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:02:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29721792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissyLeigh89/pseuds/MissyLeigh89
Summary: A collection of one-shots that are (loosely) related to the Started At The Stampede series.
Series: Started at the Stampede [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087553





	1. There Was This Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and characters will be updated as more is added. 
> 
> This is pieces of story that don't quite fit into From Montreal, With Love and there's no need to read the other stories to understand what's going on.

The truck was in a ditch.

Well, it was in a culvert, but same thing.

He had a death grip on the steering wheel, the radio still blaring Bon Jovi and singing about how it’s my life. The seatbelt was keeping him pinned against his seat, and it was a small mercy that the bags hadn’t deployed. Distantly, he could hear footsteps pounding on the pavement, but his ears were still ringing.

His father was going to kill him.

He jumped when he heard the thump in the box before the back window was slid open and there was a familiar figure climbing into the cab. «Owen! O, holy shit, are you okay?»

«Fine, I’m fine. Maybe in shock.»

Gen was in the passenger seat, body turned sideways and her hands roaming over his face and chest. «Fuck, shit, I’m so sorry. Jonah was being such an ass and I didn’t expect this to happen. And shit, shit O, you’re bleeding. You must’ve smacked your head.»

He couldn’t help but laugh, finally prying his fingers from the wheel. They shook as he went for his seatbelt, nudged away as Gen pressed the release and eased the belt back. «I could’ve said no; it’s not your fault.»

«Nice try.» She snorted, taking one of her layers off and balling it up before pressing it to his head. «Everyone and their mothers know that you have a soft spot for me. You’d have thrown fists if it came to it.»

Another thud in the box of the truck, this time a blonde head poking through the back. “Hey O. Tow truck is on its way, but uhh… your dad is here, and he is pissed.”

“Thanks Sasha. Any idea how far in the ditch we are?” Gen asked, trying to gauge the distance from the passenger window.

Sasha shook her head. “It’ll be easier to climb out the back. Can you manage that, Owen?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“He hit his head and he might be bruised from the seatbelt locking,” Gen supplied, moving the cloth away to check the bleeding. “He’ll need some TLC.”

“It’s not that bad.” Owen was already maneuvering to climb out the back, trying not to flinch at how moving definitely hurt his core. “Facing my dad… That’ll be bad.”

-

Grounded for a month and no access to the Ram for a year. Lying in bed, he knew he got off lightly. Some of that might’ve been because of the bleeding and the concussion, and some of it might’ve been Gen pleading the case with André.

Either way, he considered himself fortunate and very lucky.

There was a knock at his bedroom door before Gen entered, her smile uncertain as she approached his bed. «So grounded, eh?»

«Better than I could’ve hoped for.»

«More than you deserved. I kept trying to tell André that it was my fault, that you only did that-»

Owen cut her off. «I did it because I was jealous and wanted your attention. Yeah, Jonah was a dick about it, but I could’ve walked away. I chose not to.»

«You know I’m not interested in him, right?» She was smiling now, swinging her legs up onto the mattress so that her back was against the footboard. «That he’s just a friend?»

«I do now,» he muttered, looking towards the wall. 

So, he wasn’t expecting it when Gen kissed the bandage over his stitches, smiling at him when she moved back.

«Idiot.»


	2. Things Are Better If I Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Dominique came to call Greg 'Papa'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Helena by MCR.
> 
> IT WAS NEVER JUST A PHASE

_**The Dallas Stars announce that defenseman Gregory Paquette will be taking a leave of absence from the team to deal with some personal matters. We ask at this time that his privacy be respected as he attends to these matters.** _

\--

Three wasn’t very old, and Greg was thankful for it as there was a high chance that his niece wouldn’t remember all the sad faces around her. It broke his heart to see the redheaded child holding on to his hand, dressed in black and looking around the room at all the people, and the way she kept pulling to go to the casket at the front.

It was closed, mercifully, but hearing her yell _“Maman!”_ at the framed photo had been a rough ten minutes.

“I want up, please,” she asked, tugging to get his attention.

He smiled at her, pretending to struggle to pick her up to try get her to giggle, the sound out of place in the funeral home but worth it as she buried her face in his neck. “Of course, ma fille. Should we go look for cookies?”

“Cookies!”

He could see the reproachful look his own mother was giving him, whether it was because he was spoiling the girl or not behaving in the proper manner, he wasn’t sure. 

Twenty-one was too young to lose a sister, but three was much too young to lose a mother.

If he could make Dominique happy for even a second throughout this miserable affair, he would do whatever he could to make the child smile.

\--

_**It is with deepest regret and our sincerest condolences that we announce the passing of Amelia Paquette; beloved daughter, sister, and mother.** _

\--

«Amelia didn’t leave any instructions for what she wanted for Dominique after,» his mother was explaining a week after the funeral. «And your father and I are closer to fifty than we are forty. Taking care of a toddler… We just don’t have the means.»

«So, what does that mean for Dom?» Greg asked from his spot of the floor, helping dress a Barbie doll for the child. 

The social worker- Mia Cole- gave a rueful smile. «The Agency will place her with a foster family with the hopes of adopting her out. The biological father renounced any claim he might’ve had on her.»

He had heard the stories about foster care, about the children that moved from home to home and how the system treated them. Looking down at the little girl that was so clearly a Paquette, with her red hair and curious green eyes, the dimples in her cheeks when she smiled… He couldn’t imagine letting her get lost in a broken system.

«What if I want to adopt her?» The idea was two seconds old, but it sounded right. «There’s no rules against that, right?»

«Gregory.» It was a harsh warning from his mother, but he could see the small, pleased smile his father was trying to hide. «You’re a 21-year-old hockey player for the Dallas Stars. Do you really think you’re the best equipped to raise a child?»

«Well, why not? I’m financially stable to care for her, there are enough guys on the team with kids that could offer advice for nannies or something for road trips. Plus, summers off to do all the fun stuff. If it’s a matter of you guys seeing her too, we can work something out.»

As if sensing his distress, Dom scooted herself into his lap and handed him another Barbie. “Uncle, play with me.”

“Sorry, _ma fille,_. What’s this one’s name?”

“Amy. Like Maman.”

«We do like trying to keep families together, Gregory, but the Agency might see it in a similar vein as Fiona. You are barely an adult yourself, a single man with a very demanding job that frequently takes you away from home. That’s not the kind of environment a child should be raised in.»

Greg was only half-listening, his focus on Dom as she chattered happily about her dolls and what each one was like. “Amy cries a lot. And sleeps. Is Maman sleeping?”

“Yes. Maman is taking a very long nap.”

Dom heaved a full body sigh, and Greg kissed the top of her head. “She not gonna wake up.”

“I’m sorry, Dom. But you’ll be okay.”

“Is she my new Maman?” she asked, pointing at Mia.

Greg wanted to laugh or to smile, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to explain to a toddler how her life was about to change.

Luckily, he didn’t have to as Dom was lifted from his lap, his father holding her on his hip. “No, _ma cherie_. She’s here to help your Uncle Greg become you’re new Papa.”

«Paul,» Fiona said at the same time the Mia went «Mr. Paquette.» and Dom let out a shrill squeal.

«Dad, really?»

«Look, she adores Gregory already. They’re family, and he’s right. No one can take better care of her with the resources he has. I don’t want to lose contact with my only grandchild, and I have faith in him.»

“Papa, Papa!” chanted Dom, already reaching back for him.

He stood up, shaking the pins and needles from his legs as he took her back. She buried his face in his shoulder, and he knew that he was willing to move Heaven and Hell for this little girl.

\--

_**The Dallas Stars have acquired forward Patrick Simons, prospect Taylor Moore and a conditional 2nd round pick from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Gregory Paquette and goaltender Michael Stephens.** _

\--

It took longer than he would have liked, but the first time Dom called in Papa on April 3rd at 11:34am was the single greatest moment of his young 22-year-old life.


End file.
